Gluten Free Easter

I’m usually not on the ball enough to actually post holiday ideas before the holiday, so I’m quite proud of myself on this one.

I was thinking about how Easter might be stressful for those who are just starting out gluten free, so I wanted to post some ideas that will hopefully make things easier.

Easter is certainly easier than some other holidays (I don’t even both with stuffing at Thanksgiving), so there’s not a ton to say on the matter, but there are a couple hints I figure I can share. And I realize that every family has a different traditional Easter meal. These suggestions are based on what my family eats and what I think others might eat.

• Check the ham glaze for hidden gluten. Some of the glazes that come with spiral hams have gluten in them. Check this before you buy it and/or ask the person providing the ham to check this. One year a ham was accidentally bought with a gluten-filled glaze, but luckily the glaze went on at the end and they just cut off a bunch of ham for me before putting it on.
• Make the cheesy potatoes (aka funeral potatoes) gluten free. I know that not all families have this, but mine does and I love it. There are a few options for this. The two I use are (1) replacing the cream soup with this gluten free creamy soup mix or (2) just using chicken broth (this means it won’t be as creamy, but it’s still yummy). You can also buy special cans of gluten free cream soup, but they’ll be expensive. Or you can put in a pre-made gluten free creamy soup mix like Whisk Bliss (a Utah company). As far as the corn flake topping goes, I usually just leave it off, but if you love the crunch you can buy some gluten free corn flakes or try it out with some other gluten free crunchiness (Rice Chex, chips, GF crackers, etc).
• Do gluten free rolls (or do without). At this point, I’m fine not having rolls at all, even if everyone else is eating them. But if you love rolls you have lots of options. You can make your own from scratch, bake some from a mix, buy some packaged rolls at the store, buy some fresh rolls from a dedicated gluten free bakery/store, buy frozen gluten free roll dough to bake, or make some non-traditional rolls for Easter.

Those are honestly the only things I can think of that might be tricky for dinner. There are, of course, tons of other gluten free options for Easter dinner, such as:

• Asparagus
• Potatoes- roasted, mashed, baked, in a salad, however you want. Easy to do gluten free with these.
• Salad- green, jell-o, potato, gf pasta, etc.
• Carrots, corn, squash, or any other veggie you have around

As far as the Easter baskets go, that’s pretty simple. Tons of candies are gluten free and, most importantly, Peeps are gluten free! Watch out for the Whopper Robin Eggs and the Cadbury Cream filled eggs (those seem to go back and forth each year on whether or not they contain gluten, so specifically check that out if you like those). Remember to check for hidden gluten in candy (especially malt, which seems especially sneaky in candy).

Have a great Easter!

What does your typical Easter dinner look like?

And what is your favorite Easter candy?